Venezuela boat strikes: Kill first, justify never?

Over the last four months, the Trump administration has been ramping up its belligerence in the Caribbean. In September, news broke that the US military had begun lethal operations against alleged drug traffickers in international waters, sinking small vessels used by both cartels and ordinary fishermen, with 20 such strikes since.

- Cory Alpert

US President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth use the excuse of the quasi-war against drug traffickers. What is emerging is not a conventional counternarcotics mission but a pattern of extrajudicial killings carried out far from public scrutiny.

(PHOTO: DOUG MILLS/NYTimes)

What is emerging is not a conventional counternarcotics mission, but a pattern of extrajudicial killings carried out far from public scrutiny.

These attacks were questionable from the outset. There was no publicly available evidence of any criminal wrongdoing, only demands for trust made by the Trump administration. These were undermined by comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio making clear that the administration had other options than lethal attacks — notably, boarding the ships to conduct proper inspections or arrests.

These extrajudicial killings of suspected drug traffickers are a page from the playbook of a Southeast Asian strongman: Mr Rodrigo Duterte, who made such actions a hallmark of his time in power — both as president and as mayor of Davao City.

They’re politically clever. The attacks are pitched as part of an aggressive push for law and order. After all, who is the political constituency behind accused cartel members? To defend them invites accusations of elitism in an era of populism.

In Mr Duterte’s case, he now finds himself in front of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his role in ordering these attacks. The process has been politically fraught — a rival political clan holds power and may have used the opportunity to get rid of Mr Duterte — but it underscores that even powerful leaders can face consequences for authorising unlawful killings.